Kuala Lumpur 2016 “The Jigsaw of Life”
01/06/16 03:49
There have been only two occasions where I felt I was experiencing a vision or maybe thinking of something that wasn't under my control. Both came to me during a Friday prayer session and I'll explain why I consider them to be a vision rather than an invention of my own mind. During the prayer sessions my wife and friend will be busy speaking in tongues and/or praying whilst I am sitting on the sofa with my eyes closed and trying to sense what it is they can feel! I would try to blank out my thoughts but that is much easier said than done. At the best of times I struggle to stop thoughts coming into my mind so during these sessions I try to relax and look at each thought that comes into my mind. If it is anything to do with what has been said today, yesterday or indeed any time that I can remember I discard it. If it is anything to do with a Bible quotation/reading that we have been looking at in recent times I do likewise. Anything in the news or what someone has done similarly get booted out. It is quite usual for me to sit there for fifteen minutes doing this and have to admit that I have felt nothing and heard nothing during that time whilst the others will excitedly proclaim what the Lord has put on their hearts. I believe they are telling the truth.
One Friday though I got something. In amongst all the random thoughts that were flashing through my mind and getting swatted away came an image of a darkened room with a table and a partially completed jigsaw puzzle. I stopped to consider that. I hadn't done a jigsaw puzzle for years and there was no reason for me to be thinking of one was there? I decided this might be worth exploring further so I let my mind dwell on that image and this account is of what I saw and heard.
I found myself sitting at a table in a darkened room. The table was maybe 2.5m by 1.75m and it reminded my of a dinner table where you could sit two people along the long edge with one at each end. There was a lightbulb and shade above the table that cast enough light so that I could see there was a partially completed jigsaw on it but not enough light to illuminate the walls. The outside rectangle of the jigsaw was complete and pieces had been placed inside, building the jigsaw from the left hand edge. About two thirds of the jigsaw had been completed. The edge where the pieces placed in the jigsaw ended was ragged and sloping and I could see that more pieces had been placed at the bottom where I was sitting and less towards the top. I then became aware that there were three other people in the room, one on each side of the table but I could only see their arms and hands. They were clutching jigsaw pieces and fingering them like you do when you are looking to see if one might fit. I looked at my hands and found five jigsaw pieces but I couldn't see what was on them. I glanced at what the others had in their hands and one person appeared to have almost twice as many pieces than me.
I looked at my hand again and wondered “What is this?”. A thought immediately came back to me as if someone had heard my question and was giving me the answer, “It is the Jigsaw of Life”. Now this was interesting. Where had this image/vision come from and what was I looking at? The voice continued “You are looking at all the events that must take place before Judgement Day” (or Jesus return, I can't remember which I was told it was). “Each jigsaw piece represents something the person holding the piece has to do before it can be placed on the table. That event might be an action or interaction with someone or something. Only once that has happened the piece can fit.” I looked at my pieces again and at the edge of the jigsaw in the hope I could place one or two of them but none looked like they would fit. I glanced at what the others were doing and the voice went on “Some of the pieces can't be placed until others have completed their tasks.” I thought it was about time I asked another question so I said “What happens if I don't do the thing that would enable me to place the jigsaw piece?” The answer came back quick and sharp “Then they will be taken from you and given to someone else”. At that point the vision was gone and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get back to it without knowing that I was now creating the image in my mind.
Whilst I was quite pleased to be able to share what I had experienced with the others I quickly realised what I had seen was a variation of the “Parable of the Talents”. I carefully considered whether I had read that chapter of the Bible in recent days or weeks because if I had then that would have been the cause and I was simply reimagining that scripture in more modern terms. No, it had been a long time since reading that so there was no reason for it to resurface at that time. I decided this qualified as an unusual thought and perhaps not one of my own creation.
Later that year in November we were visiting the Bible Study College of Wales, near Swansea. I was driving the car back to the hotel where we were staying and on the radio there was an interview with an evangelist. (Not someone I had heard of before). The story he was retelling concerned being asked by God to step out of his comfort zone and do something like preaching to a stadium filled with people. He didn't want to do that but realised it was a call from God so he went ahead and it was a success. Afterwards he asked God “Why did you ask me to do that? Others would have been better suited”. The answer he was given was “You weren't the first choice but the person who should have done it refused”. I immediately thought of the “Jigsaw”.
One Friday though I got something. In amongst all the random thoughts that were flashing through my mind and getting swatted away came an image of a darkened room with a table and a partially completed jigsaw puzzle. I stopped to consider that. I hadn't done a jigsaw puzzle for years and there was no reason for me to be thinking of one was there? I decided this might be worth exploring further so I let my mind dwell on that image and this account is of what I saw and heard.
I found myself sitting at a table in a darkened room. The table was maybe 2.5m by 1.75m and it reminded my of a dinner table where you could sit two people along the long edge with one at each end. There was a lightbulb and shade above the table that cast enough light so that I could see there was a partially completed jigsaw on it but not enough light to illuminate the walls. The outside rectangle of the jigsaw was complete and pieces had been placed inside, building the jigsaw from the left hand edge. About two thirds of the jigsaw had been completed. The edge where the pieces placed in the jigsaw ended was ragged and sloping and I could see that more pieces had been placed at the bottom where I was sitting and less towards the top. I then became aware that there were three other people in the room, one on each side of the table but I could only see their arms and hands. They were clutching jigsaw pieces and fingering them like you do when you are looking to see if one might fit. I looked at my hands and found five jigsaw pieces but I couldn't see what was on them. I glanced at what the others had in their hands and one person appeared to have almost twice as many pieces than me.
I looked at my hand again and wondered “What is this?”. A thought immediately came back to me as if someone had heard my question and was giving me the answer, “It is the Jigsaw of Life”. Now this was interesting. Where had this image/vision come from and what was I looking at? The voice continued “You are looking at all the events that must take place before Judgement Day” (or Jesus return, I can't remember which I was told it was). “Each jigsaw piece represents something the person holding the piece has to do before it can be placed on the table. That event might be an action or interaction with someone or something. Only once that has happened the piece can fit.” I looked at my pieces again and at the edge of the jigsaw in the hope I could place one or two of them but none looked like they would fit. I glanced at what the others were doing and the voice went on “Some of the pieces can't be placed until others have completed their tasks.” I thought it was about time I asked another question so I said “What happens if I don't do the thing that would enable me to place the jigsaw piece?” The answer came back quick and sharp “Then they will be taken from you and given to someone else”. At that point the vision was gone and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get back to it without knowing that I was now creating the image in my mind.
Whilst I was quite pleased to be able to share what I had experienced with the others I quickly realised what I had seen was a variation of the “Parable of the Talents”. I carefully considered whether I had read that chapter of the Bible in recent days or weeks because if I had then that would have been the cause and I was simply reimagining that scripture in more modern terms. No, it had been a long time since reading that so there was no reason for it to resurface at that time. I decided this qualified as an unusual thought and perhaps not one of my own creation.
Later that year in November we were visiting the Bible Study College of Wales, near Swansea. I was driving the car back to the hotel where we were staying and on the radio there was an interview with an evangelist. (Not someone I had heard of before). The story he was retelling concerned being asked by God to step out of his comfort zone and do something like preaching to a stadium filled with people. He didn't want to do that but realised it was a call from God so he went ahead and it was a success. Afterwards he asked God “Why did you ask me to do that? Others would have been better suited”. The answer he was given was “You weren't the first choice but the person who should have done it refused”. I immediately thought of the “Jigsaw”.